PHASE Volume 1
by Nages167
Summary: When a new breed of stallions crash-land into the Everfree Forest, Twilight and her friends are quick to offer them their friendship. However, these stallions all hold a secret that could possibly endanger Equestria. Will they be accepted by society? Or will they all become outcasts?
1. Landfall

**What's up, guys? I'm Nages167, and I will be starting a My Little Pony: FiM Fan-Fiction series. I'm still relatively new to writing Fan-Fiction, so I would appreciate some constructive criticism and your overall feedback. I will also try to publish a new chapter every week, but I'll notify you all of any changes that occur. Anyway, without any further adieu, here is Chapter 1:**

_**Landfall**_

The sun was beginning to set over the horizon. It had been a busy day in Ponyville; the marketplace was crowded, carriages were rumbling, and the speculation of an upcoming meteor shower had thrown the town's residents into a mad dash to get the best possible view of the sky above. Meteor showers in Equestria usually came every 100 years, however, this meteor shower in particular was an entirely different story. An estimate of 250,000 meteors were predicted to be seen sailing across the sky; over 100 times more than a regular meteor shower.

Twilight Sparkle and her assistant, Spike, had been concealed in their library for most of the day, packing as much supplies as necessary. She had plans to meet her friends Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash by the entrance of the Everfree Forest to get a good view of the meteor shower, and did not want to keep them waiting.

"Blanket." Twilight called to Spike.

"Check." Spike replied.

"Snacks."

"Check."

"Telescope."

"Ch-check!" Spike said as he struggled to fit the telescope into their wagon. "I think that's everything."

"Wait!" Twilight said frantically. "We forgot the "Astronomical Astronomer's Almanac to All Things Astronomy"!" She began to rummage through her astronomical books, but her search was to no avail.

"I thought I burned that book by mistake...?" Spike questioned, with a look of confusion written all over his face.

"I bought another copy while you were away in Canterlot." Twilight replied, while continuing her search for the book.

Spike looked around in their bedroom and found the book on a desk near the window.

"Here it is!" He called to Twilight.

Twilight then yanked the book out of his hand with her magic, causing Spike to tumble down the stairs and land face-first onto the floor.

"Stop messing around, Spike! We have to get going if we want to meet the others at the Everfree Forest in time for the meteor shower." Twilight said urgently.

"I still don't see what all the hubbub is about this "meteor shower". I thought you said it only happens every 100 years." Spike said with a slightly indifferent undertone.

"I did say that, Spike. But my recent astronomical studies show that a cluster of an asteroid belt is nearing Equestria's atmosphere. So I'm almost certain that a portion of those meteors will be visible from here." Twilight explained as she and Spike headed out the door.

"Will any of them hit us?" Spike asked, now a little worried.

"I doubt it. None of them appear to be on a direct course to Equestria." Twilight assured.

* * *

Twilight then proceeded to make her way through a crowd of ponies, whom appeared to be out shopping for last-minute groceries. After a few minutes of navigating through the traffic, she arrived at the entrance to the Everfree Forest, where her friends were waiting.

"What _took _you so long?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I'm sorry, girls. I guess I lost track of time." Twilight explained.

"It's mighty fine, Twilight. Least you're here. That's all that matters." Applejack said, forgiving her apology.

"I'M SO EXCITED! But I'm nervous at the same time...Oooh! I'M SO NERVCITED!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

"Pinkie, how many times do I gotta tell you that ain't a word?" Applejack asked, slightly angered.

"What are you even nervous about anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Well, what if there are no meteors? Pinkie Pie asked. "If there are no meteors, then we would've came for nothing. If we came for nothing, then we wouldn't be having fun. And if we weren't having fun, then –-"

"Hey, look! It's starting!" Spike interrupted as a pack of meteors came into view.

Spike and the four ponies turned their heads to the sky above, and watched in awe as gold streaks of light soared through the top of the atmosphere. One by one, they flew across from one side of the world to the other, all in rapid succession. Suddenly, a green flash of light poked through a patch of nearby clouds. It appeared to have just entered the atmosphere, and looked to be off-course of the meteor shower.

"Oooh! What's that green one called?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Twilight turned her telescope away from the meteors to see what Pinkie was talking about, but saw nothing that fit her description.

"I don't see anything green, Pinkie.." Twilight said, confused.

"That green one, over there!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she pointed to the green light.

The gang turned their heads to see the green light, which had now grown in size. It was also visible to the naked eye; even a pony who needed glasses could see it. And it looked to be heading right at them.

"If ah didn't know any better, ah'd say that thing's headed right for us." Applejack said with a worried look.

"Duck!" Twilight yelled as she, Rainbow Dash, Spike, Applejack all prepared to duck their heads.

"Duck? Where?!" Pinkie Pie shouted, unaware of what was going to happen.

"No, Pinkie! Get down!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she forced Pinkie's head into the ground.

The green ball of light fell a few feet above their heads. It proceeded into the heart of the Everfree Forest, miraculously missing or just barely grazing a few trees in its path. As they lifted their heads, a crash was emitted from deep inside the forest, signifying that the object had landed.

"What in the name of Celestia was _that_?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I don't know. But I say we go in there and found out." Twilight said as all of the ponies nodded in agreement.

"We should check in on Fluttershy while we're at it. Ah reckon she's scared out of her pony-feathers right about now." Applejack added.

"Alright then. Spike, I need you to go back to the library and write to Princess Celestia." Twilight said as she, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack prepared to journey into the forest. "Tell her that an unidentified object has crashed into the Everfree Forest and that we are currently investigating the situation."

"But why can't I come with – " Spike tried to say, but was too late, as Twilight and her friends had already run off into the forest.

"...you?" Spike finished.

Dejected, and now bored, Spike decided to pack up the ponies' supplies and head back to the library, where he proceeded to write the letter and call it a night.

* * *

Meanwhile in the forest, Twilight and her friends tried to follow a path that would hopefully lead them to the crash-site. However, due to the object causing little to no collateral damage, Twilight knew that this was going to be difficult.

"So how are we even supposed to find this thing?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yeah, it hardly did a number to those trees over there. It's like nothing even happened in the first place!" Applejack added.

"_Unless _it crashed in the _clearing_ of the forest!" Pinkie Pie suggested.

"_Wow...that actually made sense.._" Twilight thought. "OK then. Let's head for the clearing everypony."

The four ponies continued their search for the crash-site of the object. Everything still seemed to be normal until they came across a channel in the ground. The imprint looked to have just been made, considering how the dirt was still relatively soft. The channel also had a charred appearance, as if a fire had just taken place five minutes ago.

"This must be where it landed. Its momentum must have carried it across the forest." Twilight said as she examined the channel.

There was a long (and somewhat awkward) silence between each of the ponies. Even Pinkie Pie, the normally bubbly and hyperactive pony, looked to be deep in thought.

"Well we aren't gonna find anything just standing around here. Let's go." Rainbow Dash said as she flew off to follow the trail, while Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie pursued.

The ponies continued to advance through the forest, while following the surprisingly long trail of charred dirt. It had still managed to avoid every single tree that it across, as if someone had been controlling the object. After another fifteen minutes of tracking the trail, the four ponies came to the end of the channel, only to discover that there was nothing there.

"Th-that's impossible! There should've been something here!" Twilight exclaimed in frustration.

"You mean we came all the way here for _nothing_?!" Rainbow Dash yelled, also in frustration.

"Well, _somethin' _had to land here..." Applejack said.

* * *

While Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash began to debate over what could have happened, Pinkie Pie noticed a trail of blood-stained hoofprints on the ground, and wandered off to follow them. After a good five minutes of tracking the hoofprints, (while at the same time, coming up with her own ridiculous conclusions) she came to the end of the trail, where she found Fluttershy, who was shivering with fear.

"Hi Fluttershy! Whatcha doing?" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, with a big smile on her face.

Fluttershy didn't answer Pinkie's question and continued to shudder, with a look of absolute horror on her face.

"Fluttershy? Yoo-hoo!" Pinkie Pie said as she waved her hoof repeatedly in Fluttershy's face to get her attention.

Fluttershy still remained steadfast, and looked to be pointing her hoof at the ground.

"Are you having a staring contest with the ground? Oooh! I wanna play too!" Pinkie Pie said, oblivious as to what Fluttershy was afraid of.

However, when she began to stare at the ground, she saw why Fluttershy was so petrified. There was a stallion lying motionlessly in the dirt. He had several scrapes and deep gashes scattered across his body, and appeared to be still bleeding. He also looked to have been knocked unconscious. The stallion had a light gold coat, with a lime-green mane and tail, and did not have a cutie mark. He also had a large emerald in the shape of a heart encrusted into his chest, which seemed to be glowing occasionally.

Upon seeing the injured stallion, Pinkie Pie let out a big gasp and galloped back to the channel, where Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash were still arguing.

"Found...*inhale*..Fluttershy...*inhale*...new pony...on..*inhale*...the ground..." Pinkie Pie said while catching her breath.

"Pony on the ground?" Where - " Twilight asked, with a look of surprise and confusion.

"Follow me!" Pinkie Pie interrupted as she took off into the forest.

Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash proceeded to chase after Pinkie Pie, who despite being exhausted from running back and forth into and out of the forest, was galloping at the same speed as if she had been full of energy. When they arrived at the stallion's inactive and bloodied body, their faces changed from looks of confusion and exhaustion, to looks of shock and horror. The stallion was continuing to bleed out. His chance of survival was continuing to fade.

"_Who is this pony? And how did he end up like this?"_ Twilight thought.

**Who is this "mystery pony"? And will he even survive? Find out in the next chapter of P.H.A.S.E...**


	2. Reveille

**What's up, guys? I'm back with the second chapter of P.H.A.S.E Vol. 1! In Chapter 1, Twilight and her friends were watching a meteor shower when something crashes into the Everfree Forest. After an hour of investigating, they find a stallion lying unconscious, on the verge of death. Who is this pony? What role will he play? And will he even live long enough to explain everything? Well, stop reading my crappy summary and get to the chapter to find out!**

**And sorry for the hiatus; school can be a bitch sometimes.**

_**Reveille**_

The four ponies stood over the stallion's body, trying to process how he came about to being in his critical condition, as well as what to do with him. Standing a few feet away from them was Fluttershy, who was still trembling with apparent fear. Seeing how she was the only pony near the scene of the crime, the other ponies began to contemplate as whether or not she had anything to do with the stallion's injuries.

"D-did you do this, Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash asked, unsure if she could trust the normally introverted pony.

"Fluttershy wouldn't do anything like this, Rainbow." Applejack stated.

"Well, DUH! She's the kindest, most not-hurtful pony in Equestria!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

"I agree. Fluttershy couldn't hurt anypony even if she wanted to. No offense." Twilight said as she turned to Fluttershy, who continued to quiver.

"N-n-none...t-taken...T-Twilight..." Fluttershy said through her chattering teeth.

"Well, if Fluttershy didn't do it, then who did?" Rainbow Dash asked, slightly irritated.

"I think I may know." A voice said from behind the ponies.

The five ponies turned to see Princess Celestia, who was walking towards them.

"Princess Celestia!" The ponies exclaimed, while performing a quick bow to honor her position in royalty.

"Thank goodness you're here!" Twilight said while taking a big sigh of relief. "We found this stallion lying unconscious here a few minutes ago. We're not sure who or what caused the accident."

"I see. I received a letter from Spike regarding a green flash of light crashing into the Everfree Forest, so I rushed over here as quick as I could." Celestia explained.

Celestia walked over to the stallion and began to perform a healing spell. The stallion's body became engulfed in a bright light and levitated into the air. The light appeared to be sending out small pulses, like a raindrop falling in a puddle. When the pulses died down, the light began to fade away. After the light disappeared, the stallion fell back down to the ground again, still unconscious. Even though the bleeding had stopped, he was still in his scraped-up form. The healing spell had failed.

"_Odd. That wasn't supposed to happen._" Celestia thought.

Celestia pondered for a moment while Twilight and her friends watched her, silently waiting for what she would do next. At last, Celestia spoke up.

"Twilight. I have a new task for you." Celestia said.

"What is it?" Twilight asked, now intrigued by what Celestia was asking of her.

"I think it would be the best if you take this stallion back to your library and find out who he really is." Celestia explained. "He appears to be from a new breed of stallions, so use caution if he poses as a threat to you or your friends."

"Will do." Twilight replied.

"I must return to Canterlot. Farewell to all of you." Celestia said as she disappeared in a flash of light.

The ponies stood in silence again, as if they were still trying to process Celestia's appearance. Finally, Rainbow Dash spoke up.

"I...think I'm gonna get some shut-eye. Catch you later." she said as she flew off to her cloud house.

"Ah'm gonna take Fluttershy home. Let us know if anythin' else happens." Applejack said to Twilight as she prepared to escort Fluttershy back to her cottage.

"Well I guess it's just you and me, Pinkie." Twilight said.

The pink mare however, was nowhere in sight. She had left Twilight alone in the forest.

"_She must have ran off after Celestia left. She's probably planning another party right about now._" Twilight thought.

Seeing that she had nothing better to do, Twilight decided to head back home to her library. She picked up the stallion using a levitation spell, and walked out of the Everfree Forest, miraculously avoiding any sort of wild animal along the way. When she arrived at the library, she quietly opened the door, assuming that Spike was asleep. All of the lights were out, signifying that Spike must have turned them off. Twilight then tip-toed up the stairs to her bedroom, where she gently placed the stallion on her bed using her magic. She proceeded to her desk to write a letter to Princess Celestia, with the intent of notifying the princess of her current observations of the stallion.

"_Dear Princess Celestia..._" Twilight thought aloud, while keeping an eye out for any movements from the stallion. "_I am currently in the library with the new stallion. I am also closely observing the large emerald encrusted in his - "_

As soon as Twilight mentioned the heart-shaped emerald, the gemstone began to produce a glowing green light, as if her voice had triggered a sequence.

"W-What's going on?" Twilight asked, slowly backing away.

The green light continued to brighten. It also appeared to be expanding, and looked to be preparing to send out an electromagnetic pulse. The stallion began to rise into the air, and became enveloped in the green light.

"Who _is _this pony...?" Twilight asked to no one in particular.

"I dunno. But I think we're about to find out." Spike answered, obviously awakened by the noise.

The green light had grown to its full capacity, and now had an evergreen aura swirling around it. The aura spun around the light faster and faster, until the emerald flashed once, and then sent out an enormous electromagnetic pulse. The pulse sent quills and scrolls scattering all over the place, and broke all of the windows in her bedroom. A large portion of the books on the first floor were also spread out across the room. Twilight's normally-organized library was now a complete mess.

When the wave of the blinding green light faded, the stallion gracefully landed on Twilight's bed below, still unconscious. But something was noticeably different about him. All of his scars, scrapes, and deep cuts had vanished, as if nothing had ever happened to him in the first place. The emerald stopped glowing, indicating that it had finished its intended task.

"_D-d-did he just...heal himself...WITHOUT MAGIC?_" Twilight thought, noticing that he did not have a horn.

There was a long silence in the room, before Spike spoke up.

"Well, so much for cleaning up around here." Spike deadpanned, as he went back to sleep.

Twilight cautiously walked over to the stallion and placed a hoof on his chest, looking for any signs of life. Just as she made contact with the stallion, his eyelids began to twitch slightly. Twilight quickly took her hoof of his chest and readied her horn, afraid that he might wake up and attack her.

The stallion slowly opened his eyes and moved his front and back legs, checking for any remaining injuries. Normally, an average pony would be having a panic attack if they didn't know where they were or what had happened before they got there. But this pony seemed so...calm. He looked to be aware of what was going on and didn't appear to be bothered by it. He turned his head to see Twilight, whose horn had magic whirling around it faster than you can say "Princess Celestia".

"You seem tense, Twilight. What's wrong?" The stallion asked.

Twilight was shocked beyond words. This stallion had been unconscious for 2 ½ hours, was on the verge of death at the time, and had no prior meetings with Twilight (or anyone in Ponyville for that matter) until this very moment, and he had already known her name?

"H-h-how did you...?" Twilight asked, still trying to load everything in her brain.

"Know your name?" The stallion finished. "It was simple. While I was unconscious, I heard you and your friends talking about what caused that channel in the forest. Not to mention that Princess Celestia wanted you to watch my every move after she tried to heal me." The stallion explained.

"Oh, I see." Twilight said as the magic around her horn faded away. "But how did you hear us? You were unconscious! That's not scientifically possible..."

"Science and rationality can't always prove what is possible and what isn't; no matter how much of it we try to apply to a situation." The stallion said.

"_I suppose he does have a point..._" Twilight thought, recalling the time where she found out about Pinkie Pie's "Pinkie Sense".

"Besides, if you can't explain the situation, the next best thing to come up with is a hypothesis, which doesn't always guarantee your wanted result. By the way, were you going to attack me earlier when I woke up?" The stallion asked after a moment of silence.

"I thought you were going to attack me, so I was defending myself just in case you were." Twilight explained. "I'm sorry if you felt that way..." Twilight said as she looked down to the ground in shame.

"Don't be. I can see that you are a pony of good intentions. After all, you did claim to be only defending yourself, so I don't see a reason to hold a grudge against you." The stallion replied.

Twilight couldn't help but smile at his compliment. She had met a few stallions before, but something was right about this stallion in particular. He was understanding, intelligent, and logical only when there was a reason to be. He was a stallion that she could get used to. He was a stallion that could sense when she was not at her best. He was a stallion that maybe someday, could become friends...or maybe even something more than that.

"_Don't be ridiculous, Twilight. You barely even know him; matter-of-factly, you just met him ten minutes ago. You don't even know his name yet!_" Twilight thought, unsure of how she even came about to that conclusion.

Twilight looked away from the stallion to see the mess that the pulse had made, and frowned. There was broken glass on the floor, scrolls were scattered everywhere, and the majority of the books on the first floor had been knocked right off of the shelf.

The stallion also looked away from Twilight to see the mess, but kept a look of indifference on his face, not moved at all by the problem at hand...er...hoof.

"This will take _hours _to clean up; not to mention in the correct order again..." Twilight sighed as she looked at all of the disorganized books on the floor.

"I don't mind helping. I _did _cause it after all, so it's the very least that I should be doing." The stallion replied.

"Thanks. I'd appreciate that." Twilight replied, once again smiling.

The two ponies proceeded to clean up all of the scrolls, quills, books, and broken glass off of the floor, with Spike somehow staying asleep through all of the noise. After about three hours of rearranging and reorganizing, the library was back to its pristine state.

"Well, I'm going to call it a night." Twilight said as she yawned, seeing that it was one in the morning. "You can sleep in my bed if you want."

"No, you can have it. I don't really do beds to be honest." The stallion replied.

"Well then where will you sleep?" Twilight asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Do you have a basement?" The stallion asked.

"Yes, But there isn't that much room down there. Are you sure you want to sleep down there?" Twilight asked, unsure of why the stallion refused her offer.

"Positive. I usually sleep in tight spaces anyway." The stallion answered.

Twilight shrugged her shoulders as she watched the stallion walk down the stairs and over to the door leading to the basement. She was just about to say "good-night" to him when she realized that she had forgot a very important question.

"Wait! I was so wrapped up in what happened earlier that I forgot to ask what your name is." Twilight said as she followed the stallion down the stairs.

"I go by the name "Sentinel". The stallion said.

"Alright then. Good-night Sentinel." Twilight said as she headed back up the stairs.

"Good-night." Sentinel replied.

Twilight had Sentinel deeply on her mind as she stared at the ceiling while lying in her bed.

"_Why was he acting so...mysterious? Was he the cause of the crash in the forest? And why didn't he want to sleep in my bed? _Twilight thought. "_Oh well...he might still be getting used to Ponyville. I'll show him around in the morning._" Twilight yawned and saw that it was now 1:30 in the morning. "_I better get some sleep. Don't wanna end up like Applejack."_ Twilight thought as she remembered the time where Applejack overexerted herself to the point of sleep deprivation while harvesting apples. Twilight closed her eyes, and after a few minutes, fell asleep.

Sentinel was also deep in his thoughts as he leaned back against a stack of boxes.

"_How long will I be stuck here? Did any of the others make it? Am I the only one alive? Are they...gone?"_ Sentinel thought as he closed his eyes, praying in his mind that the worst case scenario had not taken place.

"No. I WILL find them; no matter what it takes, or who it takes." Sentinel said angrily, but quiet enough so that Twilight nor Spike would hear him.

After spending a few minutes of thinking through how he would go about dealing with this issue, he finally closed his eyes and fell asleep.

**And that ends the second chapter! Now that you know who the "mystery pony" is, I assume you have more questions. Who was Sentinel referring to when he said "the others"? Why did he refuse Twilight's offer of having the comfort of her bed? And what will Twilight do in terms of her feelings towards Sentinel? Find out in the next chapter of P.H.A.S.E. Volume 1!**

**Write a review to give me your feedback on the story so far, as well as what I can improve on for upcoming chapters/stories. I'll try to get back to you whenever I can.**


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